From the Depths
by Cedarleaf
Summary: AU. For as long as he could remember, Roxas loved the ocean. Little did he know that there was someone out there just as fascinated by the land as he was with the sea. [RoxasxMer!Sora]
1. Prologue

A.N. I've had the idea for this fanfic for some time now, though originally with Kairi, but I never got around to writing anything because she never quite fit what I needed her to be. Then I discovered SoraxRoxas, and we all know what happened after that. This is going to be a _**LONG**_ story spanning five or six years (not counting the prologue) and I'm probably going to break it in half at some point into two separate fics. I want this fic to be some of my best writing, so bear with me if updates take a while, okay? Till then, enjoy.

oOo

From the Depths

by: Cedarleaf

oOo

Prologue

_There couldn't have been a more perfect day to be at sea. The sun was bright and high, the clouds filtering its strong beams into gentle rays. The wind was a soft breeze, cool and salty._

_And to the small boy perched atop the barrels beside the rail of the ship, this day was heaven. He loved the sea and in his opinion, the only thing better than sailing on it was swimming in it._

_A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. He twisted around to see his mother standing beside him. "Have you seen any yet?" she asked, smiling down at her son._

_The boy cocked his head slightly. Seen what? She glanced down at the ocean. Oh, that's right! He'd promised to find lots of dolphins earlier, hadn't he? He'd declared to the whole crew that he'd find the marine mammals for his mother. The sailors had chuckled kindheartedly at this, amused by the child's enthusiasm. His father had also smiled, going so far as to ruffle the boy's spiky blond hair. "He'll make a fine researcher someday," he had said. His older brother had grunted, but not much else. It was fine, though. The boy knew his brother only liked to pretend he wasn't interested in anything the younger boy did, though the younger didn't understand why the elder even bothered pretending_

_So, the boy had clamored up on top of some barrels near the bow to watch for the creatures. He'd been watching for hours already, giving an update to anyone who asked and sometimes even told the crew which way the elusive animals might be. They even humored him once or twice, changing course to the boy's directions. This was a pleasure outing and there was no need to worry about any sort of schedule as long as they made it back to the harbor by sunset, which was still hours away._

_Unfortunately, the boy's efforts were for naught, as not a single dolphin had yet to make an appearance._

_Of course, he was never one to be discouraged, so the boy continued to wait… and wait… and wait…_

_Eventually his search degenerated into him just staring off into the endless blue, but he didn't mind. He liked the sea._

_In response to his mother's question, he simply shook his head. "Well then, my little explorer, perhaps you'd best take a break?"_

"_Just ten more minutes, Mother? Please?"_

"_Five more, because that's how much longer until lunch will be ready. Come and join us then. We can't discover the mysteries of the universe on an empty stomach, now can we?" She poked him lightly in the tummy._

_He smiled. Oh how he loved his mother. "Yes, ma'am."_

"_Good. Don't be late now," she said, turning towards the cabin-_

_Only to have the deck slide out from under her as a rather large wave caught the starboard side causing it to tilt dangerously how to the left, so low water splashed onto the deck from the port side. "What is the name of Yevon-?"_

"_The winds've changed directions, m'lady. Comin' from the East now." The man who had spoken ran a hand through his straw colored hair anxiously. "Means storms this time of year. Perhaps we should return to port?"_

"_Yes," the woman replied, standing up shakily. "I think we have had enough adventure for today. Thank you, Captain."_

"_What has happened?" a deep, male voice asked from back by the stern._

"_Winds have shifted, sir," the captain said. "To the East."_

_The newcomer nodded solemnly. "Head back to port."_

"_Already on our way, sir."_

"_Good man," he told the captain, placing an arm around his wife to steady her as the ship was still a bit rocky. "Are you alright, darling?" he asked her._

"_Yes, though I do feel a bit wobbly still," she said, straightening her dress._

"_Come inside and sit down, then. We'll be ashore again soon enough."_

_They began to walk back to the cabin when the woman turned to call her son, "Sweetheart, would-"_

_The barrels were rolling freely across the deck, having been pushed over by the water spilling over the side. The port side. The side her son had been sitting on. Her son that was no longer on deck._

"_ROXAS!"_

_oOo_

_Roxas struggled against the ropes that entangled his legs. He'd seen them on top of the barrel before he'd climbed on but thought nothing of them. They were spare ropes and he sat on them, no big deal, right?_

_Except now they were a huge deal. When he'd been washed overboard, the ropes had come with him, somehow twisting around his legs, rendering them all but immobile._

_And when you're in water so deep you can't see the bottom, that's really, really bad._

_Roxas knew he was in trouble. The more he tried to unwrap the ropes, the tighter they seemed to become and the more he struggled, the more he seemed to sink and he was running out of air and-_

_And he was going to drown._

_Then something flashed before his eyes, but it sure wasn't his life._

_It was a face. A small, round, and slightly chubby face. Odd, what would a face be doing twenty feet beneath the surface?_

_Another face appeared besides the first one but larger and slightly elongated._

_Then the rest of his brain caught up with the part that was water logged and confirmed that yes, there were two people floating next to him in the water, two brown haired people._

_Then his lungs reminded him that he needed air. __Now.__ Instinct won over curiosity and Roxas began his struggle anew to get back to the surface, the burning pain in his chest almost choking him. But before he got very far, he felt a hand on his back, and his lungs stopped screaming._

:Breathe;_ a gentle voice commanded him._

_Reflexively, Roxas obeyed. But strangely, he did not drown. Oxygen rushed back into his lungs instead of water. Uncertain it was really happening, he took a few more breaths._

_One of the faces was still staring at him. Now free of his panic, Roxas was able to take a better look at his company._

_The first face belonged to a boy with spiky brown hair (though it was hard to tell underwater) and luminous blue eyes. He couldn't be a day older than Roxas himself. But what really caught his attention was the other boy's lower half._

_He had a tail._

_Roxas blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things._

_He wasn't. Instead of two legs, from the waist down, the boy had blue fins._

'_He's a mermaid…' Roxas realized with no small amount of awe._

_A flash of something caught the corner of his eye. Another mermaid tail, a pink one, danced in and out of his vision. Roxas supposed he found where the second face went and why there was a hand on his back; whomever the tail belonged to was standing behind him. Or swimming, rather._

_While he was observing all this, the blue-tailed merboy in front of him had been working to untangle the ropes from around his legs, his tongue poking out from between plump lips in concentration. Roxas watched him do it, starting a little when the last of the bindings fell away into the depths below them. The other boy smiled at him, obviously pleased with his handiwork. It was the brightest smile Roxas had ever seen, even brighter than his mother's. Roxas began smiling a little himself, the other boy's was so contagious. It made him feel special._

_The hand on his back, which Roxas had forgotten about for the moment, pushed him gently upward and Roxas felt himself rising towards the surface. He looked up quickly to see the underside of the waves. With the hand gone, the burning in his lungs had returned. Just before he broke the surface, he glanced back down again to see the merboy looking up at him with a slight pout on his round face. Then the pink mermaid took his hand and pulled him down with her, her long braid trailing behind her like a ribbon as they disappeared into the depths._

_oOo_

_The last thing his parents expected when his brother finally managed to haul Roxas aboard was the biggest smile of his they had ever seen on him._

"_Mother! Father! You're not going to believe this!" he said the moment his feet hit wood. Roxas was all but bouncing with glee, completely unfazed by the experience of almost being lost at sea. Having believed for one heart-stopping moment that his younger brother had perished, jumping overboard to save said sibling from Davie Jones' locker, and the boy actually fighting him to stay in the water, his brother was in considerably lower spirits._

"_Yes, do tell why you insisted on almost drowning."_

"_Did not!" Roxas snapped back. "I was trying to wave goodbye to the mermaids!"_

_His statement was met with silence for a moment, before his brother snorted. "Knew he'd swallow too much sea water someday."_

"_Did not! I really saw them!"_

_Their father chose that moment to chide them and ordered a complete halt of discussion until both his children were dry and properly fed. As his mother gently shooed him into the cabin, Roxas stole one last glance at the blue water, thinking of the strange and wondrous beings that lived there._

oOo


	2. Chapter 1

oOo

From the Depths

by: Cedarleaf

oOo

Chapter 1

The dream faded slowly from his mind just as the very first signs of dawn appeared on the horizon. The youth stirred, stretching lazily as he breathed in the crisp, not quite morning air. The dream had been a pleasant one, a memory from an era of simpler days gone by when the sky was the limit and nothing was impossible. But the memory was of the day that ushered in the beginning of the end of that era.

It was a memory of the day he discovered there was more to the ocean than meets the eye.

Everyone said he'd been hallucinating, but Roxas knew what he had seen. Two mermaids (a mermaid and a merboy, really) had saved him from an early, watery grave. Roxas could still recall with perfect clarity the warmth of the maid's hand on his back and sheer brilliance of the boy's smile.

Roxas was all too aware that boys his age weren't supposed to believe in such things as mermaids. It just wasn't considered "masculine". Maybe if he was some grungy old sailor who'd spent more years of his life at sea than on dry land, people would find him eccentric instead of just plain strange, but… That's why he preferred older people instead of kids his age.

His father hadn't believed him, dismissing what his young son experienced as just an illusion created by his panicked and water logged mind. His mother however, well, she never really told him what she thought about the whole thing, at least not quite. "The sea has many secrets, my son," she would always say, "perhaps one day you'll discover some of them."

His brother just thought, "Hey, he's five. Let the kid believe what he wants. He'll grow up soon enough." And in the end, Rufus' view won out. Roxas knew his brother could be a real jerk sometimes, but he did have his moments.

Nine years had passed since that day. And in all that time, he had never lost his absolute belief that merfolk did exist, though as he had grown older, he had needed to hide his beliefs from other people, especially his father. Lord Ansem was a powerful man and a great believer and practitioner of science. In his mind, everything in the universe could be rationalized by the laws of physics and chemistry.

Roxas disagreed. To him, there were things that existed beyond the scope of human senses and logic, things that simply were.

And he believed he had been touched by one of those great unknowns just as strongly as he believed they existed.

But he couldn't tell his father that. Roxas hated having to be so far removed from his own parent, especially since they were so close in everything else, but it was necessary for his own self preservation. He hated that even more.

He might have been able to tell his mother, for she had always encouraged his curiosity (though always coupled with a word of caution), no matter what it was.

But she had passed away several years ago. And with her passing, Roxas had lost not only a loving mother, but also the timber that fueled the fire of his desire to learn. With but a few encouraging words from her, he'd felt ready to conquer the world and all its secrets. The earth, the sea, all of it was his to explore, and no amount of hard work or drudgery was enough to slow him down, not with her standing behind him.

But then she was gone. And with her went all joy and hope and thrill of adventure.

For two years after her death, Roxas had felt as if all light had fled the universe. He didn't smile or laugh or go out and learn something just because he wanted to. For two years, he was frozen down to his very soul.

That all changed when he ran into an old friend again – literally.

He'd been walking home from school in a daze as usual and as such, he hadn't been paying attention when he crashed into someone causing both of them to fall to the ground…

oOo

_"Hey, watch where yer goin'!" the man yelled, obviously angry._

_"I'm very sorry, sir," Roxas said sheepishly. As a further apology, Roxas helped pick up some parcels that had fallen out of the man's arms when they had collided and it was as Roxas was giving them back to him that the man recognized him. "Roxas Nomura?"_

_"Yes?" Surprised to hear his name, Roxas turned to look at the man, really look at him. It was none other than Cid, the scruffy but good humored sea captain who used to sail his father's research voyages. As a matter of fact, he'd been at the helm that fateful day Roxas had almost been lost at sea. "Captain Highwind?"_

_"Well I'll be damned, it is you! How've yeh been, boy? Ye've shot up like a weed since last I saw yeh."_

_They made small talk for a while, Roxas following Cid to the docks, as he'd been in the middle of delivering something and needed to get it to the recipient soon. Along the way, Roxas learned that since leaving his father's service four years ago, Cid had gone into the ship building business and was currently running his own shipyard, which was where they were headed._

_Of course, once he was done talking about himself, Cid turned his attention to his young companion. At first, Roxas tried to speak of only trivial things like school and homework, but eventually, Cid inquired about his family, particularly his mother._

_It was several moments before Roxas found the voice to tell him._

_"I'm sorry, boy," Cid said, his eyes sympathetic. "'S a damn shame, that. Always a true lady, yer mother. I was lucky to know 'er._

_"Yer a lot like her, yeh know," Cid told him after sometime of walking in silence. "She always had this feelin' about her, like she was somethin' special, y'know? You have it too, a little bit. More so than yer brother."_

_"I really miss her," Roxas admitted quietly. It had been two years, but he still rarely spoke of his beloved mother and now that he finally was, he felt a need to open up and thaw the part of his heart that had frozen with her passing._

_"Yeh wouldn't be her son if yeh didn't, boy," the old sea captain told him._

_"Does it ever go away?" the ten year old asked, his eyes too old for one so young._

_"No," Cid replied, knowing all too well what exactly the boy was talking about. "The pain will heal with time, but as long as yeh love her, it will never truly be gone." He laid a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "And that's the way it should be."_

_They walked the rest of the way to the docks in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. For the first time in two years, Roxas found his thoughts focusing not on the pain of losing his mother, but on the woman herself. He remembered their adventures together and now much fun they used to have as a family. He remembered his delight at showing her his latest invention or discovery. He remembered how fiercely he had loved her. Cid was right, Roxas wouldn't have been his mother's son if he hadn't missed her. It meant he still loved her. The pain was still there, but after his talk with Cid, it wasn't quite as overwhelming as it had been._

oOo

Back in the present, Roxas had already finished dressing for the day. Not a week after he'd first run into Cid again, he had gone down to the shipyard to see him again. While he'd felt better about his mother, Roxas was still very much lonely and so he'd sought out the only person with whom he felt understood. Cid had been surprised to see him but didn't seem to mind him being there, so long as he stayed out of the way. They even talked a little during breaks.

Watching Cid and his crew at work on a small schooner, Roxas had felt some of his old curiosity return to him and wanted to ask the man about what he was doing but didn't, lest Cid find him annoying. The seadog seemed to read his mind however and gave a short explanation anyway. Roxas had listened intently, even daring to pose a question. Far from finding him a nuisance, Cid seemed pleased to have such an attentive pseudo-pupil. By the end of the day, Roxas had had such a good time, he'd come back for an encore the week after.

So began a routine that lasted for the better part of four years. By the time he was twelve, Roxas was big enough and had learned enough to actually help out a bit, bringing tools, water, and other supplies to the crewmen when they needed it. He came to know almost every one of them by name. Roxas enjoyed being able to actually do something for a change instead of being told to stay out of the way like a child. He felt like he was growing up.

But what Roxas loved about working at Cid's most of all was listening to the old sailors' tales. The young men Cid employed were mostly just for muscle but the older crowd were old sea dogs who'd settled down and oversaw the crew as foremen of sorts. Almost every day during the lunch break, they would all sit down together and swap tales about their younger days on the high seas. Roxas could tell many of them were either completely made up or greatly exaggerated. Every once in a while though, there'd be a story that was a bit too real, a bit too impossible but plausible, the teller's eyes a bit too sane and his voice a bit too steady for his tale to be anything other than true. Roxas thrived on those stories. They reassured him that he wasn't alone in believing the fantastical.

Also right around that time, one of his father's private vessels was damaged in a storm and Cid was commissioned to fix it. Lord Ansem knew perfectly well about his son's activities and took the opportunity to inquire of the boy's progress. The old captain was nothing but praise and they agreed that Cid should make Roxas a member of his crew on a more official basis.

And thus his hobby turned into his first real job. He loved it. It was never much, just a few hours of various odd tasks that need to be done and it was only three days a week.

Two of those days were during the morning shift. It meant he had to get up earlier than usual on those days, before the sun rose even, but that was fine by him.

Today was one of those days. He was out the door and off to the docks just as the first beam of light broke over the horizon. There was something about being awake to witness the birth of a new day that was simply magnanimous, and it made getting up early to see it more than worth the effort.

There were few people in town as Roxas made his way to Cid's; most on the island were just waking up now. The few that were included the milkman, the paperboy, and Mrs. Gainsborough, the old lady who owned the bakery. Roxas sniffed as the scent of fresh baked bread reached his nose. But even if he didn't really know them, Roxas still felt a strange kind of companionship with them, as if they were keepers of a precious secret together.

By the time Roxas arrived at the shipyard, the sun had risen properly, and Cid and his crew were already hard at work building a brig some wealthy merchant had commissioned. He watched them hoist up the huge beams that would become the new ship's framework. It was not easy work, requiring great precision and manpower to haul the beams up by ropes. Roxas waited until the crew finished attaching the rib they were working on the talk to Cid about his duties for the day.

"Good morning, Cid!" he called.

"Mornin!" came the gruff reply. Roxas couldn't blame him. Here it was just barely after sunrise and already he'd shouted enough to last most people the entire day. "You need an extra hand?" he offered.

Cid wiped the sweat from his brow. "Nah," he declined. "We already got it covered. Got a bunch of errands for yeh today, anyhow. Shera's got the list in the office."

Shera was Cid's wife and she handled all the paperwork and financial aspects of the yard while Cid oversaw the actual construction and repair of the ships. They were the absolute oddest couple Roxas had ever met in his life. Shera was quiet and soft spoken while Cid was rash, rowdy, and a nut for all things nautical, but they somehow kept it together.

Roxas gave his thanks then made his way over to the office, which was back at the main entrance to the shipyard. It was a modest little two story building, but it was nice. It had been Cid's home back in the day but then he'd married Shera and they moved into her cottage on the quiet side of town. Cid swore up and down he never realized how much sleep he lost from telling people to shut up so he could get some sleep until he moved.

Shera was upstairs, sitting at her desk, running some numbers. She smiled warmly at him as he walked in the door. "Good morning, Roxas," she said, motioning to help himself to a plate of pastries he'd just spotted on the table. Which he did.

"Goo moin!" The words were somewhat garbled by the cranberry muffin in his mouth but Shera understood anyway. Roxas swallowed. "Cid said you had some stuff for me to do?"

"Mm hmm," she said, sipping her tea. Shera brandished a sheet of paper at him. Roxas took it from her and looked it over. It had all the usual stuff on it; some notification letters to be sent to the mainland, an order for supplies from both the carpenter and the blacksmith along with payments to both for last time, some local letters to deliver, and return a book Cid had rebound for Maechen. The usual.

Snatching another muffin, Roxas thanked Shera before heading back into town.

oOo

His errands didn't take as long today as they usually did. If fact, he was done by twelve o'clock. Usually he'd go back to the shipyard and help out until around four or so even though he was off the clock at noon but today he didn't feel like it for some reason. Instead, he headed home, raided the icebox for some lunch then set out for the family's private dock just down the hill from the manor.

Bypassing all his father's vessels, Roxas climbed into his own little rowboat tied to the end of the pier. It wasn't much, just barely big enough to fit two people but at least it was his, a gift from Cid after his first year of work and not paid for with his father's money.

Whenever he wasn't working or attending to his studies, Roxas had a hobby of exploring all the little islets that dotted Besaid. Most of them were uninhabited, but the wildlife was beautiful. Roxas was sure he was the first person to set foot on most of them since the days Destiny Islands was originally discovered.

Today, however, he was going to his favorite. He called it the Isle, for lack of a better name, and it was one of the larger islets he visited, about fifty feet across, shaped like a crescent with the bay facing west and the open sea, hidden from the rest of Besaid's view by the island's awesome western cliffs. It was a bit far, but Roxas didn't mind. It was a better guarantee he'd have the place to himself.

Reaching the Isle, he dragged his boat up on the beach and tied it to a tree. Then he took out his lunch and took a seat on one of the boulders that marked the southern point to the crescent. Worn flat and smooth from centuries of salty ocean winds and partly shaded by the tall palm trees that grew on the island, the boulders were the perfect place to kick back and relax.

And that's exactly what he did.

Munching on the apple he'd swiped, Roxas watched as the clouds glided by and crabs scuttled across the sand. There were a few seagulls here and there but mostly it was just the sound of the waves and the wind through the trees.

His thoughts turned to the dream he'd had as he polished off his lunch, and wondered where his rescuers were.

Soothed by the wind and the waves and the sheer tranquility, Roxas fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2

oOo

From the Depths

by: Cedarleaf

oOo

Chapter 2

The entire Ocean was alive and practically buzzing with excitement, Sora could feel it. Something was going to happen today.

Bright tropical fish of all colors of the rainbow darted out of the way as he glided over the reef, enticing him to give chase, but Sora did not stop to play. No, today he was a merman on a mission.

He was on his way to a little isle he'd discovered some moon cycles ago while gathering herbs nearby with his mother. It was on the cliff side of the big island, and the perfect place for adventurous young merboys to go ashore without being caught by humans and overprotective parents. And as an added benefit, there was a small outcropping of rock some ways out at sea but still close by, perfect for scouting for humans and any tailing merfolk before going all the way to the little islet itself. It wouldn't do to have come all this way only to get caught and dragged back home again for yet another lecture from his father.

Reaching the pinnacle rock, Sora carefully ducked around it, looking around for any human vessels in the area. Even if he was insatiably curious about them, Sora had absolutely no desire to end up in some human's fishing net.

He was so preoccupied with searching the surrounding waters for boats, the little merman completely neglected to spot the one beached on the island in front of him.

Certain that the coast was clear, Sora made a dash for it.

Reaching the islet's in-curved beach, he swam up as far up as he could, crawling the rest of the way after it became too shallow.

And then he was completely on dry sand. Tired from swimming such a long way, the merboy flopped himself onto it, wriggled around happily for a moment, delighting on the feeling of the fine granules rubbing against him, gently scrubbing away dead skin. It made for a much better backscratcher than the wet sand on the ocean floor. And it was warm, too!

The sun and the sand were warm, but the breeze was delightfully cool; light and refreshing but heavy with the many scents of the land. He lay there breathing in the sweet perfumes, and Sora felt what the elders called the yearning for the land; the longing to go ashore, to explore the place above the sea and taste its fruits.

And as the merboy sat up and looked around to marvel at his surroundings, he saw something.

A foot dangled off the boulders at one of the island's points. A human foot.

Sora froze.

By the laws of his people, contact with humans was strictly forbidden. Land dwellers were to be avoided at all costs. It was also extremely dangerous.

But as the moments lengthened and the human did not stir, Sora carefully forced himself to relax. Raising himself up, Sora saw the human was a boy, roughly his own age, with bright blond hair. His eyes were closed and his breath was steady and deep.

Sora allowed himself a sigh of relief. He was safe for now, the human was asleep.

Still, it would be foolhardy to linger, for the human could wake up at any moment. Sora quietly turned to leave, disappointment flooding through him. With human presence on the islet, there was no way he and his friends could play here. So much for that idea.

But as Sora made it to the water's edge, he paused. The human _was_ sleeping and sleeping deeply enough to not have been disturbed by his splashing earlier…

A wicked thought came to him then, an idea that was practically blasphemy by his own people but far too tempting for Sora to just ignore.

As slowly and quietly as he could, Sora crawled over to the rocks and hoisted himself up on them, leaning over the slumbering human to get a better look at him.

Sora had always been fascinated with humans. Their language, their culture, their artifacts, all of it. While he was young, his obsession been discouraged, but tolerated. After all, practically all merfolk experienced an infatuation with humans at some point in their lives. But as he had grown older, Sora's curiosity had not faded.

So what if they had legs and he a tail? Sora remembered the human boy he'd met all those cycles ago. The child's eyes had been alight with wonder, not malice. Sure they ate fish, but so did merpeople and even other fish.

As Sora examined the land dweller sleeping before him, he reflected that he had not been so close to a human since he and his mother saved that human child all those years ago. He'd always wondered what would have happened if the other human hadn't jumped overboard to save the child and his mother hadn't pulled him away. The boy looked like he would've been fun to play with.

Thinking about it, Sora felt a shock as he recognized the human lying beneath him as the same one he'd saved all those cycles ago.

It was him, Sora was sure of it! The same bright blond hair, the same round face. Sora wondered if his eyes were still the same, too. He had grown to be very handsome, the merboy noticed.

Just then, the human mumbled something, turning over onto his side a little.

Badly startled by the sudden movement, survival instinct kicked in, and Sora threw himself off the rocks and into the Sea for safety. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest thing he could have done, because the resulting splash of an adolescent merman diving into the water completely drenched the human. And if the boy hadn't been awake before, he certainly was now.

The moment the cold water hit him, the human bolted upright. He looked around, disoriented and a little bewildered at having been woken so suddenly. As the boy's gaze focused on the part of the beach Sora had been on earlier, the merboy mentally slapped himself, realizing far too late that he'd probably left a trail in the sand leading right up to the rocks. If there was anything his kin had managed to drill into Sora's head, it was that humans were smart, so he could safely assume that the boy had figured out that he wasn't alone.

And sure enough, the blond immediately leaped up and began examining the beach. As Sora watched from the tentative safety of the kelp bed, the boy frowned, picking up something up. It gleamed silver but other than that, Sora couldn't see what it was.

Frowning again, the human's sharp blue eyes (and they were the same) began searching the water. It was only by carefully slipping backwards toward the deeper ocean that Sora managed to escape detection. Once out of range, Sora swam a ways until he resurfaced at the pinnacle rock. There, he watched as the human boy seemingly gave up on looking for the thing that had woken him with a frustrated scowl, puffing his cheeks like a puffer fish. His blond hair shined like fine gold in the sunlight.

Sora remained hidden behind the pinnacle until the human boy had gotten into his boat and rowed away. Only then did he let himself relax.

That had been a close one. Even so, Riku and Kairi were never going to believe this.

Scratching an itch on his throat, Sora felt that his neck was now bare. With a jolt of panic, he realized his necklace was gone.

Then he remembered to shiny something the human had clutched in his hand.

'_MY PEARL!_'

It must have fallen from his neck when Sora had been flopping around on the sand!

Turning tail, Sora chased after him, but it was too late. By the time Sora had caught up with him, the boy had already gone too deep into human territory where Sora could not follow, taking the merboy's treasure with him.

oOo


	4. Chapter 3

oOo

From the Depths

By: Cedarleaf

oOo

Chapter 3

The following day, after he did his usual errands for Cid, Roxas ducked into the blacksmith's shop for a special errand of his own. The foundry was as smoky and covered in soot as ever but luckily the person he was hoping to talk to was present and alone. Roxas found Will hard at work on the anvil, hammering a rather stubborn length of steel into submission. Will Turner was one of the blond' few friends anywhere near his own age and while Will didn't share his belief in mermaids, he was kind and open-minded enough to not hold his younger friend's convictions against him, unlike many others in their age group.

"Afternoon, Will!" Roxas called, shutting the door behind him.

Will looked up from his work.

"Good afternoon, Roxas," he said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. Inspecting the unfinished blade, Will deemed it fit for the next stage of forging and placed it back in the kiln to reheat. "What can I do for you today? Have you another order of tools for me?"

"No," Roxas replied, coming closer now that sparks weren't flying. "But here is the payment for last week."

He handed the blacksmith a purse of gold from Cid. Mr. Brown may have been the technical owner of the shop and master blacksmith, but Roxas knew Will was the real talent and muscle behind all that was made here. Weighting the sack expertly in his hand, Will accepted the payment and withdrew to his workbench to stash it away. Then he removed two of the many swords he had crafted, casually tossing one to Roxas, who caught it deftly.

As the son of a nobleman, Roxas had been taught the basics of swordsmanship, but Will had taught himself to be as good at using blades as he was at making them, and they often served as each other's sparring partner. But with summer in full swing and the shipping season at its height, Will had been kept constantly busy with orders for ships and things for Roxas down at the docks hadn't been any less hectic. They hadn't had a decent fight in a month. Roxas was sorely tempted to accept the challenge, but he had other things to do and they couldn't wait.

"Not today, Will," the blond smiled apologetically, holding the sword point down on the stone floor with his left hand as he searched for something in his pocket with his right.

"Hmm? Got something else for me, have you?" Will asked, taking note of the gesture.

Roxas nodded and withdrew a length of silver necklace chain from his pocket and handed it to his friend. Frowning slightly, Will took it, walking over to the window to get a better look in the light. It was a fine chain, made from a series of tiny silver links woven together to form the strand. The craftsmanship was flawless but one of the main rings connecting the clasp to the strand had come loose, opening just enough to let the smaller links connect to it slip out, undoing the weave.

"Can you fix it?" Roxas asked, looking over his friend's shoulder. "I know jewelry isn't exactly your specialty."

Will grinned wryly. "Not usually, no," he admitted, turning the long silver strand over in his hand. "But laying gold filigree is a rather tricky art, as well."

After another minute of examination, the blacksmith turned to his young companion. "Aye, I think I can repair it, but the links are very delicate and several need to be taken apart and reworked. It will take me a few days."

"Take as long as you need," Roxas told him. They haggled out a price of three gold pieces for repairs to the chain plus a good cleaning. Then Roxas bid Will goodbye and went on his way. Though broken, the silver strand was still a fine piece of jewelry and well worth the time and money to get it repaired. Not to mention the original owner would probably want it instead of a replacement. But Roxas kept that bit of information to himself.

Roxas knew a mermaid had been there on the Isle with him. The sand on the beach had been disturbed by something large, rolling around on it if the marks were anything to go by. But the smoking gun had been the hand prints on either side of the main body marks. They were deep in the sand, as if the person had pulled themselves up the beach out of the sea using only their arms. Unless their legs were injured, a human would have simply walked up, and if they had been injured they wouldn't have been gone after he'd woken up. Well, wouldn't have been gone and left him his rowboat, anyway. It _had_ to have been a mermaid.

Coming to his conclusion almost instantly, Roxas had leapt up off the rocks, eager to search the sand and find out what details he could. And when he did, he'd found the necklace.

His first instinct had been to find the mermaid who dropped it. But searching the surrounding waters, he'd found nothing, the owner probably having long since fled. They would be back for the trinket without a doubt, but Roxas had no way of knowing when that would be and didn't want some seagull making off with it in the meantime. So he had taken it back home with him.

The chain alone was beautiful, but the charm strung upon it was nothing less than a work of art. It was a full silver scallop shell, about an inch and a half wide and so perfectly crafted, Roxas would have sworn it was a real shell dipped in silver had the ribs not been a bit too broad. Delicate, almost frail looking strands of leafy seaweed wrapped around the top, forming a loop through which the chain was strung. There was the barest impression of hinges nestled in the upper seam of the two joined halves and Roxas thought it might be a locket, but there was no clasp that he could see nor could he open it, even by force.

But the most curious thing about the shell was that it was warm. When Roxas had first picked it up on the Isle, he had assumed the unusually high temperature was due to it having been lying under the sun in warm sand. But even after bringing it home and leaving it in the drawer of his bedside table overnight, it was still warm this morning.

The charm was obviously magical somehow and a mystery. That's what his instincts told him anyway, but now he needed proof. He had to find out what this thing was so he could prove it was a mermaid it belonged to. And if Roxas wanted to do that, he needed more and better information, and that meant paying a visit to Maechan. Being the son of a world renowned scientist, Roxas had quite a collection of books on all different subjects ready and available to him at home, but a thorough search through them yielded nothing. He needed a more specialized collection of knowledge for what he was looking for. Information on merfolk was usually little more than stories and no one knew more about folklore than Maechan, who also happened to be a former tutor of Roxas'. The old scholar thrived on history, both as it was remembered and as it actually was, and the more obscure the subject, the better. His personal library held the many books he'd collected from around the world. If there was anything to be learned about the treasure he'd found on the Isle yesterday, Roxas would find it there.

No one was at home when Roxas finally arrived, so he fished out the spare key from its hiding place under a loose paving stone in the garden and let himself in. He knew Maechan wouldn't mind, having previously invited the young blond many times to help himself to the library should he need it, and Roxas did just that. He usually preferred to conduct research under his mentor's watchful and experienced eye, but for something as sensitive and important as this, Roxas was grateful for the privacy. When he came right down to it, Roxas just didn't feel like he could show the charm to anyone, not even Maechan and Will, and certainly not his father.

The only person Roxas could have shared his secret with was Yuna, his closest friend. She was the only one who truly believed that he really had seen mermaids that day, for like him, she too had had an encounter with one.

Yuna first moved to Besaid from the mainland as a girl and while taking a walk on only her second day at her new home, had wandered too close to the cliffs. She slipped and fell, twisting her ankle on the way down. Clinging to the sheer rock for dear life, unable to swim, and with her cries for help going unanswered, little Yuna had been certain that she was going to die. But then a boy appeared in the water next to her, a boy with bright blond hair... and a tail. She had been afraid of him at first, but he took her in his arms and carried her to the other side of the cliffs where she could safely crawl back onto land. She turned to thank him, but the boy was already gone.

But Yuna was away on the neighboring island of Kilika with her father on temple business and wouldn't be back until the end of summer, which was still well over a month away. The thought made him feel a little lonely, for Yuna really would have loved to have been here with him, Roxas thought, looking through the many tomes of Maechan's library for the knowledge they sought. Not to mention he really could've used her help.

But she wasn't here, so Roxas selected a few books that looked promising and brought them over to the large reading chair that Maechan kept by the window and sat down to begin his research.

The first book was a collection of firsthand accounts of people meeting mermaids on the high seas. Not exactly the most trustworthy source for research like his, but when it came to merfolk, one couldn't afford to be picky. Roxas flipped through it, looking for references of necklaces or jewelry, but the closest thing he could find was a story of a little girl who lost a necklace of a seahorse while out at sea, saw a red-haired mermaid swimming next to her ship, and had the necklace returned to her by a seagull not long after.

It was a heartwarming tale, but not what Roxas was looking for, and so he moved on to the next volume. Four books and several hours later, dusk was fast approaching and Maechan had finally returned home, pleasantly surprised to find one of his favorite pupils studying in his library. He invited Roxas to stay for dinner, but the youth declined. He had already stayed much longer than he had intended and had to get home soon lest he worry his family. Borrowing a knapsack from Maechan, Roxas loaded it with a few more books to study overnight, bid the old scholar a good evening, and headed out for home again.

It was a warm and pleasant evening, and the salty breeze felt good on his face after so many hours hidden away in the library. The streets were quieter now, too, most of the islanders already having returned home for dinner, but there were still a few people out and about.

Roxas paused at a lookout balcony that oversaw the harbor, and beyond it, the ocean. Somewhere out in that awesome vastness, someone was missing the necklace he now possessed. It wasn't just about finding out who the trinket belonged to, but about finding the mermaid herself. To prove that everyone was wrong when they said he was hadn't seen what he did that day. That Yuna wasn't wrong about the merboy that saved her life.

Yuna.

After learning of the other's experience they had stuck together like glue. Each was the only person in the world they trusted unconditionally and to whom they could tell their deepest secrets and thoughts. It was Yuna as much as Cid who helped Roxas pull himself out of the depression of losing his mother. They were very close, so close that Roxas had heard many a rumor in town that they were secretly sweethearts, but they were more brother and sister than anything else.

He really missed her right now...

"Well well, what have we here?" a voice rudely interrupted from behind him and Roxas cursed under his breath. The people in town that found him odd usually just gave him a wide berth, but Kadaj and his brothers, Loz and Yazoo, seemed to always make a point to actively seek Roxas out just to antagonize him. Steeling himself for a confrontation, the blond turned around to find Kadaj and Yazoo standing behind him.

"Good evening, Kadaj, Yazoo," Roxas greeted pleasantly, his shallow smile failing to reach his eyes. "Where is that brute of a big brother of yours?"

Without warning, an arm thick as a tree trunk appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around his neck in a headlock.

"Ack- there you are!" Roxas gasped, trying to wriggle free, but Loz's hold on his was solid. Oh how he hated these three. Between them, they embodied every reason why the blond disliked being around people his own age. The trio's father was a well known general of the Royal Bevellian Army and an aristocrat to boot. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo hero worshiped the ground Sephiroth walked on and each of them had inherited something from their father. And unfortunately for Roxas right now, though not quite having the minds of his younger brothers, Loz, little better than a brute in nice clothing, had inherited his father's impossible size and strength. Try as he might, Roxas just couldn't break the older boy's grip.

"Is that any way to treat old friends?" Kadaj quipped once the blond had stopped struggling a little.

"What do you want, Kadaj?" Roxas snapped, face red from exertion and the humiliation that he'd been caught unawares. After years of working with Cid, Roxas was actually quite strong and could more than hold his own. But then, the trio went to military school for most of the year and Loz already had him in a headlock, not to mention it was three to one... He really didn't want to get into a fight right now. Of course, not that he had much choice in the matter at the moment.

"Nothing for today," the silver haired swine replied almost cheerfully, as if he had just granted the other boy a marvelous gift. Kadaj had inherited Sephiroth's sharp and calculating mind, but it was often overshadowed by his obscene narcissism. Kadaj thought himself so clever and brave, he pitied the rest of the world for having the supreme misfortune of not being Kadaj. He would forgive them for it though, just so long as they acknowledged he was a gift to them from Yevon and worshiped him accordingly.

Roxas loathed him most of all.

"Just wanted to tell our favorite freak that his buddies are back in town," Loz sneered, giving the blond a rough noogie. Except for cursing loudly as his scalp burned with pain, Roxas didn't reply, renewing his attempts to elbow Loz and free himself.

"We will allow no more disrespect from you this summer, Roxas," Yazoo drawled, watching the struggle before him with about as much interest as if it had been a game of solitaire. The middle child, he was the peacock of the group, having inherited his father's striking looks and most of his vanity, if to a lesser degree than Kadaj.

Roxas scowled, although the gesture was lost somewhat as he tried to twist away from Loz. They wouldn't accept disrespect from him? As if!

A low, menacing voice came from somewhere off to his right. "Kadaj. Loz. Yazoo."

Loz immediately dropped the still struggling Roxas, who fell in an undignified heap to the cobblestone. Scalp still smarting, Roxas looked up to see none other than Sephiroth looming over him. The general observed the scene before him with blatant disinterest.

"I expected you back at the manor half an hour ago," he said, voice barely more than a murmur. "Is this how you've been wasting my time? Lurking around town, picking fights like uncivilized delinquents?"

"Father-" Yazoo tried.

"Silence," the general cut off his son, his tone even and unconcerned but carrying an undertone that promised punishment if not obeyed. His sons flinched as if physically struck, snapping to attention. Sephiroth eyed the three before glancing down at the disheveled blond just getting to his feet. Roxas suppressed a shudder. He had only met the general a few times before, but each time the elder man completely unnerved him. Today was no different. Sephiroth's face was blank and his acid green eyes soulless, yet his gaze seemed to pierce right through Roxas, making him feel vulnerable and exposed.

Not wanting to endure the man's creepy gaze any longer, Roxas snatched up his bag and turned on his heel to walk away. Passing Kadaj, Roxas knew by the sullen look on the other's face that this wasn't over yet. The blond was sorely tempted to smile then, just to push the arrogant wretch's buttons -Kadaj wouldn't retaliate, not with his father standing there- but Roxas didn't test his luck.

He walked away, feeling like he had eyes on his back the whole way home.

oOo

A day and only Yevon knew how many books later found Roxas back in Maechan's library and no closer to solving the mystery of the silver seashell than when he'd started.

The blond let out a curse and tossed yet another book aside in sheer frustration. He'd been through everything on mermaids that Maechan had and not one of them had yielded any meaningful information. Nor had he found even so much as a hint of where else to look. It went against everything in his intellectual upbringing to admit it, but Roxas was stuck at a dead end with no idea what to do next. There had to be something useful here somewhere!

Flopping bonelessly back into the reading chair, Roxas closed his eyes and took a long steadying breath. Then another. And another.

Once he was calm again, he opened his eyes and took out the charm again. Hanging from the substitute chain he'd been using until Will finished with the real one, which Will said should be done by tomorrow, the little silver shell sparkled in the sunlight, looking like nothing more than a simple trinket, abet a very beautiful one.

But it wasn't. It was an obviously magical object that belonged to a mermaid who had been there on the Isle with him two days ago.

Roxas paused at that last thought. Perhaps what he should be focusing on wasn't _who_ the necklace belonged to, but _what _it was; a magical object.

Grinning, Roxas returned to his research.

oOo

In his room that evening after supper, Roxas found what he was looking for. In a book simply titled _Tools of Sorcery_, he found an illustration of a necklace that was so close to the one he had, sans a few key differences in design.

There was an inscription on the opposite page. It read:

_The Mermaid's Pearl_

_Of all the magical beings in the world, the mermaid is by far the greatest. Already a powerful magical creature in_

_her own right, the mermaid's advanced intelligence gives her the ability to focus her magic to use for whatever_

_endeavor suits her. But this is a double edged sword. Lesser creatures of magic can do only as their nature_

_dictates with no harm to themselves. By seeking to control her magic consciously, the mermaid risks being_

_harmed by her own innate powers, particularly if she is inexperienced._

.

_It is for this reason that when a mermaid is born her powers are sealed within a pearl of pure magical essence._

_The pearl is then placed within a wrought silver shell, locked inside with a spell, and worn as a necklace. Thus_

_can the mermaid draw only as much magic from her pearl as she is able to use without harming herself. The_

_pearl remains sealed within its protective shell until such a time the mermaid is of sufficient skill to_

_perform the spell to open it, retrieve the pearl and reclaim her magic fully as her own._

.

Roxas felt a rush of sheer exhilaration. He'd been right all along, and here was the proof! And suddenly, he didn't feel so alone anymore. There were others who knew, who believed, even if he never got to meet them face to face. He wasn't alone.

He looked from the illustration to the little trinket still dangling on the substitute chain around his neck. Is that what this thing was, a magical training tool? Did this mean that the mermaid who was there on the Isle with him as a youth as well? Roxas wondered how close in age they were. And did mermaids have to be in possession of their pearls in order to use their magic?

He kept reading.

.

_The protective shells themselves are widely varied, but always of bivalved species and made of silver and very_

_rarely gold. It is common practice among merfolk for these treasures to be passed down from mother to_

_daughter as family heirlooms._

.

_But be ye warned, friend. A mermaid's magic is mightily powerful and great care is taken to protect her magic_

_from being misused by either the maid herself or any other soul. The strength of the sealing spell upon the_

_pearl is such the shell will not yield it until either the mermaid whom's magic it contains performs the unsealing_

_spell -and only that mermaid can successfully perform the spell upon it- or the mermaid herself dies and the_

_pearl loses its magic utterly. Be wary, for the inverse is also true. A mermaid is a born magical being. Her magic_

_is directly tied to her life force. If the pearl containing her magic should be destroyed, the mermaid herself will die._

.

Roxas froze, his blue eyes fixed on that last sentence. Was this for real?

Suddenly feeling an overwhelming need for fresh air, Roxas closed the book and stepped outside onto his balcony. Clutching the ledge tightly, he took deep, steadying breaths, trying to calm himself even as him mind raced with the knowledge of what he had just learned. Eyes closed and head still reeling, he reached into his shirt, pulling out the necklace and removing it from his neck. Only then did Roxas open his eyes to look at it.

He was literally holding someone's life in his hands, he realized, sealed within this tiny shell. He had to get it back to them. Now. Roxas had known that he would probably have to give back the necklace eventually but he realized now he had been avoiding thinking about it because he hadn't wanted to give up the only physical link he had to those magical beings he had sought for so long.

But he had to give it back. Someone's life depended on it.

The only question now was… how?

oOo

A.N. Once again, I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but I promised to try and be more timely with my updating, and so I've decided I've held this chapter hostage long enough. Hope you all liked it! :) Oh and yes, tis young Mr. Turner from _Pirates of the Caribbean._ I don't know what everybody's problem with him is, but I like Will! He's sweet and loyal and he doesn't try to steal your gold when you're not looking. In fact... :_stands on a soapbox with a megaphone_: I'D SHAG ORLANDO BLOOM OVER JOHNNY DEPP ANY DAY! :_runs from onslaught of angry Captain Jack fangirls/boys_:


	5. Chapter 4

oOo

From the Depths

by: Cedarleaf

oOo

Chapter 4

After thinking about it all night, Roxas came to the conclusion that the only way to return the necklace to its rightful owner was to go back to the Isle and wait for them. He had no idea how long it would take, but Roxas was determined to spend every available minute there until the necklace was back with the mermaid it belonged to. It was the only way.

So after retrieving the chain from Will this morning, here he was, sitting quietly under the shade of a palm tree, reading the rest of his books from Maechan to pass the time. Judging from the position of the sun, it was just before noon Roxas estimated he'd been waiting for a good three hours already, and the day was really starting to get hot. Time for a dip to cool down.

Taking off his shirt (more like peeled off; even in the shade he covered in sweat), Roxas was careful not to catch the mermaid's necklace on any of the buttons. He didn't think the owner would appreciate a total stranger wearing such a deeply personal possession, but it was the only way he could think of to keep it on his person while still displaying it for the mermaid to see. He waded into the water until it was waist deep. Then kneeling down so he was covered up to his neck, Roxas reveled in the exquisite coolness of the sea.

The moment the small silver shell around his neck touched the water, a pulse sounded from it into the Sea, a beacon calling for its master. But Roxas was not that someone, and thus he did not hear it. Instead, he stood up again, took a deep breath, and dove head first into the waves.

oOo

_:Sora, are you sure this is where you lost it?:_ Kairi asked for the umpteenth time, frowning as she looked over the many nooks and crannies in the coral reef that her friend's necklace could have slipped into.

_:I told you_,: Sora sent, pretending to search among the clam beds, :_I don't know where I lost it.:_

_:Just keep looking_,: Riku sent from somewhere over by the drop-off.

When he'd first arrive home three days ago, Sora had been in such a state of panic, he could barely swim straight. His parents of course had picked up on this immediately. Aerith had cuddled and rocked him gently in an effort to calm Sora down while Cloud demanded to know what had happened to him – and where his conspicuously missing Pearl was.

Sora couldn't tell them the truth, so he'd made up a story that he'd lost it while hunting for brine shrimp out on the Mariera sand dunes. To avoid any barracuda in the area, which are known to be attracted to shiny things, he'd removed his necklace and placed it in his collection sack. His sack had been almost full when he was caught unawares by a striped shark. While having only just begun his formal training in magic, Sora did know a few defensive spells. But sharks in general were highly resistant to magic, and the stripped ones were notoriously foul tempered. So he'd fled in a hurry and in the mad dash to get back to safety, losing his bag somewhere with his Pearl still inside.

His family and friends had understandably been horrified. His mother had immediately checked Sora over to make sure he still had all his fingers and fins (one could never be too careful when it came to sharks), then clutched him to her and refused to let him out of her sight while his father had immediately called for a search party to look for the missing necklace. Still others were sent to hunt down the shark to make sure it wouldn't threaten the village. They'd been looking for both for three day straight now.

Sora felt beyond guilty for lying to his family and causing them and everyone else so much worry, but there was no way he could tell them what really happened to his necklace, that it was now in the hands of a human. That horror would be beyond anything they were experiencing now.

But, regardless of the reason why, his necklace was gone and he had no idea how to get it back. In mad desperation, he'd considered trying to find the human boy and pleading for his Pearl back, but Sora knew no more how to find the human than he did his Pearl. Besides, with his Pearl missing there was no way his family would let him out long enough to find the human.

So here he was, out looking for it with Kairi and Riku, even though the Sora alone knew they had little hope of finding his pearl.

Then, pretending to look underneath an anemone, Sora paused as the current around him rippled strangely.

Something had just called to him.

Sora glanced over his shoulder. His friends were still involved with their fruitless (unbeknownst to them) searching, seemingly unaware of anything else. So they hadn't noticed. Was the call just for him alone, then?

Ducking down behind a small outcropping, Sora sat on the ocean floor and closed his eyes, concentrating. It was different from normal sending, more a feeling than a thought. It was strong, whatever it was, but it was only a feeling, with no words to accompany it. Strange…

Was it… was it the Sea that called to him now?

But, after a moment's contemplation, he knew it was not so. The Sea's awesome presence had surrounded Sora since the moment of his birth, as familiar to him as the beat of his own heart, but it had never outright spoken to him, not like this. To receive a true sending from the Sea itself was a rare thing. Rather, whatever was calling to him now was only using it as a medium to reach him.

As he thought about all this, Sora found his eyes had opened again, staring off into the distance. No, he realized, he was staring off towards the islet he'd discovered and lost his Pearl on. Something there was calling him. Was it his Pearl? Had the human boy returned to the island with it?

If this was so, he had to get over there and get his Pearl back as quickly as possible, before the human left again. Sensing for Riku and Kairi, Sora found them slowly drifting farther and farther away from him, their backs turned. If he wanted to leave unnoticed, Sora had to do it now.

Dampening his own presence in the Sea, the little merman slipped away.

oOo

Properly cooled down now, Roxas pulled himself up onto the largest of the rocks that made up the southern point of the Isle. He flopped bonelessly onto it, tired from the swim but refreshed nonetheless. A quick nap sounded wonderful right about now.

He had just started drifting off when there was a shiver, almost like a shock, tingling down his spine. Roxas bolted upright, all senses suddenly on high alert.

Someone else was here. He didn't know how he knew it, but he did.

"Hello?" he called, standing up to get a better view. The Isle wasn't that big, he could see practically every inch of it from his perch here on the rocks. The wind blew through palm trees too thin to conceal and the waves rolled against the empty beach. There was no one, and yet Roxas had the overwhelming feeling that he wasn't alone.

As he examined the landscape around him, his gaze slipped from the sandy beach to the waves and then deeper, into the sea itself, and his heart leapt up into his throat. Could it be…?

Standing as far out onto the boulders as he could, Roxas shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, trying to peer into the blue-green depths that surrounded him. He had to force himself not to get excited. It could be nothing after all, just his imagination tormenting him yet again. And after several moments of searching, just when he was beginning to lose hope-

Just beyond the rocks, to the south, there was a thick kelp bed nestled between the coral. Though usually decorated with the many fish that called it home, at the moment it was deserted. Odd. Momentarily distracted, Roxas peered at it, trying to figure out why when he saw a dark shape hidden within. He might have dismissed the shape for a rock, but he'd never seen one in the kelp bed before…

The "rock" moved.

Roxas did a double-take, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

They weren't. Looking closer, he was able to distinguish first a head, then a human torso and an arm, then a very _in_human, fluke-like tail.

Roxas let out a shout of sheer exhilaration. The mermaid!

They were so well camouflaged among the seaweed, Roxas never would have spotted them if he hadn't been looking in just the right place.

The moment he shouted, the figure in the kelp flinched and recoiled. Roxas mentally slapped himself, realizing he'd probably scared them and he ruthlessly suppressed his overwhelming excitement. After all these years of being ridiculed for his beliefs in mermaids and striving to prove their existence, Roxas was mere yards from once again meeting one face to face and he would _NOT_ ruin it by scaring them away. "Wait!" he said, not sure if the mermaid could hear him or not but trying anyway, "Don't go. I won't hurt you."

It seemed the mermaid could hear him. Their tense posture relaxed slightly but remained on guard, and when Roxas didn't react again, they crept forward a little. When he still didn't react, they crept forward a little more. And as they slipped out of the kelp bed, revealing themselves completely, Roxas saw that the mermaid was… a boy?

Hmm. Hadn't seen that one coming.

But .

Forcing himself to be absolutely calm, Roxas smiled down at him. "Hi."

The young merman smiled tentatively back at him, but it was clear that the poor thing was more than a little nervous. Not wanting him to bolt, Roxas spoke to him in as gentle a voice as he could manage. "It's okay. I just want to say hello is all."

"Erm, I'm Roxas. Nice to meet you," he said, kneeling down and extending a hand below the water. In hindsight, he really hadn't prepared well for the actual meeting the mermaid part, but maybe he could still wing it. He felt a little foolish right then (did mermaids even shake hands?), but the gesture did seem to calm the merboy down a little. He (a brunette, Roxas noticed) swam forward again, still cautious but also seemingly a bit curious. Roxas grinned to himself. Almost all his books had harked on about how curious mermaid were, especially the young ones. It seemed they were right.

Swimming up until he was just beyond the reach of Roxas' arm, the merboy examined it carefully, his sharp eyes flicking between the appendage and the human who offered it. Finally, after much consideration, the little brunette offered his own small smile and grasped the other's hand in a solid shake.

If Roxas was excited before, it was nothing to how he felt now. Pure elation flooded into him, stronger than anything Roxas had ever felt before in his life. He was smiling so hard, his face was threatening to split in two and his heart was doing somersaults in his chest.

Gingerly, carefully, Roxas pulled the merboy up, until the other's head broke the surface and there was nothing between them but air.

"Hi. I'm Roxas," he said again, still grinning. Now that the waves weren't distorting his view, Roxas could make out the young merman's features clearly. The brunette had a round face perfect for big smiles and his impossibly blue eyes were large and expressive. Even his hair was upbeat, the thick brown mass clinging to itself into spikes that seemed to defy gravity even as water tried to weigh them down. He looked to be about the same age as Roxas himself, but the most telltale sign of all was his conspicuously bare neck.

_:I'm Sora_,: the merboy said, looking over Roxas as well, his expression a little shy but again curious.

"Sora, huh?" Roxas rolled the name over his tongue, deciding he like it. "Well then, Sora, this is yours, isn't it?"

He let go of the other's hand to unclasp the necklace still hanging around his neck.

Sora's too blue eyes widened. :_Hey, that's my-!:_

But Roxas had already held it out to the merman and Sora snatched it back from him, securing it around his own neck as fast as his fingers would allow. Once the trinket was safely back on his person, Sora practically collapsed with relief. He must've been so scared these past few days, Roxas thought. To have been missing such an important part of himself for so long, the human couldn't imagine what Sora must've been through.

Indeed, the moment he thought that, Sora said, "_I thought I'd lost it forever."_

Reaching up, he grabbed Roxas by the shoulder and pulled him down so Sora could hug him around the neck. "_Thank you, thank you, thank you!"_

A bit taken aback, Roxas nonetheless returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around the brunette, some part of him noting that he could now see the small dorsal fin just below the small of Sora's back and his long blue tail. "You're welcome," he said earnestly. "I'm just glad I was able to get it back to you."

Sora's hold on him tightened a little in appreciation, but then he abruptly released, twisting around in Roxas' arms to look behind him into the sea. His expression fell a little.

"What is it?" Roxas asked, wondering if he'd missed something.

_"My friends have noticed I'm not there with them anymore_," Sora explained, frowning a little. "_They're calling for me."_

Roxas didn't hear anything, but then, he wasn't a merman. Maybe they had extremely sensitive hearing or something. "So, you have to go, then?"

Sora nodded, and Roxas go of him. They merboy was probably in a lot of trouble already for losing his necklace, Roxas didn't want to get him into any more by delaying him. But as Sora slipped back into the water, he couldn't help but ask, "So, may I see you again?"

Roxas would be lying through his teeth if he said Sora being a merman wasn't part of it, but fins or no, the brunette did seem to be very nice, and Roxas couldn't help but want to be friends with him.

Sora paused, looking down into the water before turning to face the human. "_I would like that_," he said. "_But, since I lost my Pearl, my parents have been keeping a tight watch on me. It will be a little while before things go back to normal for me."_

The merboy took a moment to consider how much time he would need before it was safe to go out on solo excursions again without arousing suspicion from his family and friends. "_Can you meet back here the day after the full moon?"_

"The full moon? That's in five days, right?"

"_Yes."_

Six days from now, Roxas had to work at Cid's in the morning but would be free the rest of the day. "Yes, I can come," he informed his new friend (he hoped), "but only after noon or so."

"_It's settled, then. I'll see you here in six days at noon. Goodbye, Roxas, and thank you again!" _Sora smiled at him as he turned to go, and Roxas half gasped as the memory of that exact same smile on a much younger face superimposed itself over his mind's eye.

"Wait!" he called, but Sora had already sunk below the waves and disappeared off into the blue oblivion, leaving Roxas still kneeling on the rocks, dumbstruck at his sudden revelation.

Sora was the one who rescued him from drowning when he was little, Roxas was certain of it! Of all the odds! It had been almost a decade since that day, and yet, that it would be the same merboy who's Pearl Roxas would find here on the Isle and then return so that they might meet again...

In spite of himself, Roxas began laughing. Whether from his earlier elation or sheer incredulousness or because he was finally losing it, Roxas was soon laughing so hard he was in tears. He had always believed that mermaids existed, that universe had a plan, and had always had the sneaking suspicion that he was the butt of some cosmic prank. And after searching for answers for nine years, he'd gotten conformation of all three in a single afternoon.

The world was a truly amazing place sometimes.

But, still laughing as he untied his boat and began pushing back into the water to head for home, Roxas realized something else as well. During their entire conversation, Sora's lips hadn't moved.

oOo

A.N. Once again, I'm not entirely happy with my writing in this chapter. It feels too stiff and choppy to me. The end especially was a pain to write and pretty much the sole reason why I didn't have this thing posted a month ago, stupid dialogue.

Also, a lot of you are probably wondering about Sora and MerCo's usual methods of communicating. It's called sending and it's a lot like telepathy but still a little different. Sending, its purpose, uses, drawbacks, etc., will be explained in upcoming chapters as Roxas himself becomes aware of it as well as why he can hear sending when usually only mermaids can (ooh, dun dun duuun).

Anyway, hope you liked it. See ya next time. :)


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